The Future of Light and Shadow
by NyantasDragon
Summary: Flarekit suddenly finds that no one can see her. Well, no one notices her. When she confronts a clan greater than LightClan, can she join to become seen or will she have to find the shadow that would be her future? Until then, there is no future. Only that, she may be part of the future of both light and shadow.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: _

_My first story! Yay! I'm not that awesome until I manage to write more stories. Encourage me!_

_Anyway, the Warriors series already has a ton of other fanfics due to the amount of potential it has. So I'll be sure that this is interesting._

_This is rated T just to be safe. :3_

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors. Period.**

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Chapter 1: Ignored

A slight mist drifted slowly into the den. Flarekit jolted up, and realized the small tickling was only the cloudy air surrounding her. She yawned, relaxed now, and stretched as she trotted confidently to... where to?

Flarekit looked around. The queens weren't there, and even her mother had vanished. Turtleleg and Beasttail, the other queens, were gone with her mother, Burntshell. Flarekit disappointedly fell back to sleep, but as she lowered her eyes, Evekit bolted into the den. He was heaving heavily, and was wheezing even after perhaps a long moment had passed. "F-Flarekit! I... I can't find them!" he whined as he scanned the den for what seemed to be the second time. "When I woke up... they were gone!" Flarekit sighed.

"I know, Evekit. Still. It shouldn't bother us. It's not really anything we've got to deal with anyway," she replied. To her, it was entirely reasonable. Evekit was the youngest, Flarekit the current oldest of all the kits. Evekit had one sister, Shallowkit, and Turtleleg's kits were Palekit, Tinykit, and Hollowkit. Those three were a rowdy bunch, and it usually took the three queens together and sometimes a couple warriors to catch them.

"B-But! I'm so _hungry_," he complained as he slumped his shoulders down. Flarekit grumbled loudly to show her annoyance. She swiftly batted the mist away with her tail, and stretched.

"Fine. Let's find Turtleleg, Burntshell, and Beasttail. No problem," Flarekit replied. She hadn't changed her mind, that was true, but if she wanted to get some decent sleep, it was after she solved this predicament. In one more moon, Flarekit would become an apprentice. It seemed tough-she needed to get as much sleep as she could.

HOWEVER. The rest of the kits were unable to accept that and bothered her every single...

Evekit howled with happiness, and Flarekit flinched. He was definitely way too loud for his own good, as Flarekit heard a warrior hiss angrily outside. "Well that's that. Thank LightClan that you didn't make me deaf," Flarekit mumbled.

"Let's gooooo!" Evekit called. He was already out the den, where the activity of the clan was to search for the queens. Flarekit's father Maplecut, was frantically searching. He was deputy, and also the son of the former leader, Redstar. Burntshell's mother was the current leader of FireClan, Songstar.

Flarekit followed closely. So, as the currently most stupid question to ask, Evekit questioned Flarekit, "Where are they?" Flarekit fumed with frustration.

"_I _am following _you! _HOW SHOULD I KNOW?" she spat at the terrified kit. "I don't even care anymo-"

"I wonder why. I'm feeling awfully afraid right now," Evekit mumbled. Flarekit hissed.

"Don't ignore me!" she yowled. She unsheathed her claws, but then quickly pulled them back, wishing to sink into the ground. No one in FireClan, however, paid any notice to her.

Evekit shrugged, and bounced off to find one of her siblings. Flarekit, who felt surprisingly lucky that no cat saw her do that, went to go find something else to do, until she found a stray mouse that was not a part of the fresh-kill pile. The small robin was, for some reason, unnoticeable by the other warriors. It was possible that the robin got lost in the mess that they had looking for the other queens. "Better return this," Flarekit meowed to herself, and picked the robin up to the fresh-kill pile.

While doing so, she bumped into Goldpelt, who scanned the area. "That's strange. I feel like something bumped me." Then, he continued to search for the queens.

By that time, Flarekit realized. They were playing a prank on her. They were trying to make it as if she wasn't there. "You know what, I'll leave!" Flarekit yowled unhappily, and ran off into the forest, shoving the robin into her mouth in her fury.

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One day later...

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Flarekit slept in the forest that day. An abundance of moss kept her warm, and dry from her tears. She was ignored. "I hate FireClan!" she hissed in her sleep. The next morning, it was practically burning. Flarekit suddenly ached for the comfort from the shade of her den.

But she didn't go back.

Not yet...

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Approximately one moon later...

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Flarekit found herself on the outskirts of WaterClan territory. She could go on in, and say that she was part of it. No one would believe her. And Flarekit realized that just before she could detect the scent of WaterClan cats. Immediately, she tested the air. It was blowing away from her. A bad situation.

Though, before she found the time to react, the patrol had come. From what she could tell, it was a border patrol. "Ashpaw, Moonfur, and Riversnow, quickly renew the scent," ordered a bright blue tom. Three of the cats did as they were told.

Flarekit froze on the spot. The blue tom seemed to easily defeat her, but she could stand up in a battle. Living in the wild and staying undetected had helped her once frail body adapt. The first few days were agony. Though, somehow, no real danger ever threatened Flarekit, no, for some reason, nothing besides getting caught and hunger bothered her. Even after crossing some GroundClan borders, they never reacted. In fact, it was close to her apprentice ceremony. Maybe Flarekit should go back to FireClan...

_NO! _a part of her yelled. Flarekit's heart throbbed, and it ached for some comfort. She was of importance. Her kin usually became leader or deputy. It was expected. She had even thought up of the name Flarestar more than once in her life, more than the other kits. Her kin also belonged in several prophecies, of which most were fulfilled.

So perhaps she _should _go, even though so much force rejected that thought, it wasn't enough to fight off her will.

The problem was... right then and there, she would be taken into custody by WaterClan. WaterClan, weakest of all the clans... it would be embarrassing. Yet, Flarekit anticipated...

Then, the cat named Moonfur, spoke up, "I smell FireClan stench. It's fresh _and _strong. It's almost like there's a cat there," he hissed. The blue tom nodded in agreement.

"Yes. I agree. The border patrol from FireClan must have come only a few moments ago. They must've just been here," he replied. "I don't smell their scent on our side though."

By now, Flarekit was shocked. WaterClan would surely not play along with FireClan's game. Although FireClan was the most strongest out of the four clans... it was almost impossible for the proud WaterClan to bend to their will.

As Flarekit turned to leave, she made a fatal mistake. She stepped on Ashpaw's, the apprentice, paw. He yowled in pain. Instinctively Flarekit had unsheathed her claws, and they dug into the poor apprentice's delicate flesh without realizing it.

"What's wrong?" Riversnow asked worriedly. Ashpaw looked at him with eyes full of pain and suffering. He whimpered. Flarekit slowly got off his foot. Blood was on her claws, and the experience was nauseating. Ashpaw showed Riversnow his injured paw, and she jumped back. "D-Did you step on your own paw?" he asked.

Ashpaw shook his head. "N-No. I-I was just going to follow you when something suddenly hit my p-paw. It... hurts. It felt like a... cat stepped on me," he replied as he held up his paw.

"I have to admit, that definitely looks like something a cat would do. What do we do, Blueeye? We can't just leave Ashpaw here, but we don't know if the threat will stay or not," Moonfur mewed. The blue tom, Blueeye, sighed.

"We'll have Silversky inspect that. Right now, healing Ashpaw's paw is all that matters." Blueeye motioned with his tail for them all to follow.

Before leaving, Moonfur glanced at Flarekit, but her eyes were empty. It was as if she didn't see Flarekit there. There was no anger. Just frantic eyes full of misery.

At that moment, Flarekit wanted to die. She hurt the other clan and they... didn't look at all like they noticed.

Would going back to FireClan change anything? If even after the entire moon... no one... no one...-

...

-can see her there?

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**Closing Words: **

**This is going to be interesting. Stay tuned I suppose?**

**~Nyantas**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N:_

_I have returned! My duty is to show you the light of my story! Well, I'll try._

_Anyway, sorry I haven't been on. But, I'm back! So there you go!_

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Chapter 2: I'm a Shadow?

That night, Flarekit, even though she doubted anything would happen, ventured close to FireClan camp. Tears wanted to come out, but they didn't. She was just crestfallen that no one saw her. Even after she had hurt the poor apprentice Ashpaw.

Flarekit didn't believe she'd have to find Ashpaw on border patrol again unless FireClan can see her. To be careful, Flarekit kept a good distance from camp. She swiftly and quietly climbed up a tree to get a better view of camp.

What she saw was shocking. There was a happy clan, no one seemed upset or shaken what so ever. Then Flarekit got herself to find herself once more. Why would it be so appalling? She already knew that no one was able to notice her.

No one.

Flarekit felt something warm on her cheek. A teardrop, she confirmed, trying to stop the other tears by smiling. That didn't help. She'd have to wash her face later. Flarekit's mother was there, Burntshell. She must've been found. Along with her, the other two queens were also in the camp. Turtleleg was feeding her kits, while Beasttail chatted with her mate, Sandshade.

It all made sense, except Burntshell, who wasn't in the nursery. She was excitedly gnawing on a bone instead of feeling downcast.

This all came at once to Flarekit, so she didn't notice that the tree rapidly began to become softer. Or was it something else? Anyhow, Flarekit fell through the branch before she had begun to figure out what was going on. She yelped loudly, but safely landed on her feet.

Then Flarekit scented in the breeze that someone was approaching. She took a defensive crouch she learned in secret from watching the apprentices, similar like she learned how to hunt, and waited patiently. It was good to be safe.

Suddenly, Flarekit didn't know what exactly she was doing, and righted herself. What _was _she doing? Nothing was there...

"Hello," called out a voice. Flarekit turned around, gaping. It must've been someone else. The greeting couldn't possibly have been directed toward her... "Come on, return the greeting. It's rude, you know, when you don't reply after someone says 'Hello'." There was a cat in front of Flarekit. A silver tom to be precise.

Flarekit returned to her senses. "Wait. S-So, you're talking to... me?" she asked. The tom smiled and waved his tail.

"No 'Hello'? That's fine. I can see why. You don't know why I'm here, talking to you... right?" The tom sighed. "Anyway, I'm Silver of the Starlight. To make it short, we call each other Silverstarlight. Long, but shorter than my original name. I should be Silvershadow though..."

Flarekit crouched at this. An unfamiliar name. "Why can you talk to me?" Silverstarlight grinned.

"Well. Sit down, and listen to this..."

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**What Silverstarlight basically said, to put it shortly, to spare y'all some time:**

Flarekit is the bud of a shadow. A shadow is a cat who cannot be noticed or seen. Their name is officially changed to _shadow. However, since they become a shadow, those which are part of the Starlight League, or to make it more understandable for the cats of the clans, StarClan of the Light (or just StarClan-these cats believe a clan named "LightClan" to be their ancestors, not StarClan in order to avoid confusion). A shadow cannot turn back from being a shadow, ever. To become a shadow, you must either lose presence or have other cats want you to lose presence (i.g. Flarekit was always snapping at all the cats, and lost presence because she wasn't physically active.) You'll also become immortal. That's another downside. That's why becoming a shadow is horrible. As you begin to become a shadow, your presence will decrease, which means that as you start to become a shadow, those without much presence will start to go through you, or more like you'll go through it. The tree did not have much presence. As a result, Flarekit went through the tree. Once you become a bud, the only way to change back is to become a part of StarClan of the Light. To regain presence, you train and become pretty much a warrior. After getting all of your presence back, you can return to your clan. They'll suddenly remember you. You'll also have more strength than the others. Many of Flarekit's kin became leaders that way.

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By the end, Flarekit was speechless. She didn't want to become a shadow. She wanted to join StarClan of the Light immediately. But before that, "Hey, um, Silverstarflight-"

"It's Silverstarlight."

"Can I just call you Silver? Silverstarlight is just too irregular for me," Flarekit meowed. Silverstarlight grinned.

"Sure. After all, you're my apprentice," he agreed, and Flarekit jumped up.

She was his apprentice? "Wha- Wait. I'm going to become Flarepaw. Wait, am I already Flarepaw?" Silver laughed.

"It's an honor to have you as my apprentice," Silver replied gracefully. "I suppose we must begin training immediately... _Flarepaw._" Flarepaw brimmed with happiness.

Then, she realized that she wasn't a FireClan apprentice, and ducked her head shamefully. "Sorry. It's all too much to take in a once; I-"

"It's alright," Silver warmly meowed. "Even I was shocked. But let me tell you something. Becoming a shadow can help you do this..." So Flarepaw nodded as Silver prepared to demonstrate.

He came up to Flarepaw, and tapped her paw. She felt it. Silver nodded, and Flarepaw nodded back. Then, Silver came up to a tree. Backing up, Flarepaw had to only imagine what Silver would do. _Climb up the tree_? she thought impatiently. _Probably. With a ton of speed._ Flarepaw felt better and much more relaxed that way.

Silver began to sprint. It was swift... and silent too. Almost... like a shadow. None of the leaves were tossed up, even though Flarepaw was sure that Silver made contact with at least a few...

Flarepaw noticed Silver who, well, wasn't too far from the tree. The thing was, he wasn't slowing down. No. He was heading straight for the tree...

Flarepaw gasped. "Wait! Silver! Slow down!" she called out frantically. Too late. Silver would, without a doubt, crash into the tree. The impact could fatally injure him. And, the tree, if anyone cared at all.

Then Silver passed through the tree. Or maybe the tree passed through Silver. Either way, Silver wasn't at all hurt-not a scratch. He huffed with satisfaction... or disappointment. "W-Wha... you went THROUGH THE TREE?" Silver sighed.

"These bones (A/N: Silver has a generally well-known existence within the Starlight League-so the bones do take some kind of shape) aren't faring as well as I hoped. Oh well. Anyway, Flarepaw, how was that?" Silver questioned. Flarepaw gaped. She glanced at the tree and back to Silver.

"I-You-It... how?" Flarepaw stammered. Silver smirked.

He then trotted over to Flarepaw, who backed up by one step. "Don't worry. I'm not some bad cat. Nonetheless, I'll teach you that. First, the basics." Flarepaw stood her ground, embarrassed to have been fearful of her own mentor, even though it had been a simple demonstration.

Flarepaw gulped, and nodded. "Yeah. That was awesome... but how?" she asked. Silver sighed.

"All things have generally a highly low existence. That tree is even lower. Using the fact that the tree hardly has any existence, passing through it isn't that hard. It also means that it passed through me. Get it?" Silver then smirked. Flarepaw stared.

"You try it now. Don't use instinct. Fight against it. You'll pass through the tree as it passes through you," Silver urged. Flarepaw gulped and sat on her bottom. Some part of her refused to move. "Though, you should probably use another tree, just in case. This tree has way more existence now that we've used it for the lesson."

Flarepaw sighed and took in a somewhat reluctant breath of air, and got up. She prepared to run toward a tree not too far from the first, and then glanced at Silver for a brief moment. Silver, who noticed, nodded.

She took off. At first, she was surprised that the leaves weren't rustling. Not only that, the dead ones didn't make any sounds and break. She soon realized that the leaves with a much lower existence weren't at all... well, they were just passing through her.

By the time Flarepaw figured out the mystery of the leaves, she had already passed through the tree she was instructed to pass through and was about to pass through another when she skid to a complete halt. She was only a tail-length away from the tree, and yelped in surprise. Looking back, Silver was purring in approval as he began to trot toward her.

"Not bad! But you didn't seem to be paying attention to the tree. That's the best way to go-give the tree as little existence as possible-even by accident," Silver approved. Flarepaw went red in embarrassment that her mentor noticed her spacing out, and stood in place. "That's enough for today. Tomorrow, we're going to work on giving existence."

Flarepaw sighed. She didn't know why-that day was exhausting, and she nearly fell asleep right there, on the spot, though she still fell onto the cool ground. She got up, but she just tumbled again and fell asleep this time, with very little effort to stay awake.

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**Closing Words:**

**I sincerely apologize for having to make a little section explaining what exactly Silver said. It bothers me as well, however I truly do want to save some time. **

**And please review whether you'd like me to skip to after her training is complete or generally go over what she does in the next chapter. Based on majority I'll go ahead and write whatever. **

**In addition, within the duration she was a "bud of a shadow" (or really, the time she kept away from the camp and before she met Silver) she had also watched the other clans-thus, became generally more knowledgeable in all fields of... well, hunting, attacking, and defending. It's really similar to being an A student. **

**Also, inanimate objects cannot become a shadow. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Nyantas**


End file.
